The effect of negative hyperconjugation on the solvolytic behavior of carbonate diesters has been investigated kinetically by applying the LFER equation log k = sf(Ef + Nf). The observation that carbonate diesters solvolyze faster than the corresponding carboxylates and that the enhancement of aromatic carbonates is more pronounced indicates that the negative hyperconjugation and π-resonance within the carboxylate moiety is operative in TS. The plots of ΔG‡ vs approximated ΔrG° for solvolysis of benzhydryl aryl/alkyl carbonates and benzhydryl carboxylates reveal that a given carbonate solvolyzes over the higher Marcus intrinsic barrier and over the earlier transition state than carboxylate that produces an anion of similar stability. Due to the lag in development of the electronic effects along the reaction coordinate, the impact of the intrinsic barrier on solvolytic behavior of carbonates is more important than in the case of carboxylates and phenolates. Consequently, the solvolytic reaction constants (sf) are generally lower for carbonates than for carboxylates. Because of considerable lower reaction constants of carbonates, an inversion of relative reactivities between aryl/alkyl carbonate and another leaving group of similar nucleofugality (Nf) may occur if the electrofuge moiety of a substrate is switched.